That’s according to this article which suggests that driving for three hours at night can have the same effect as driving drunk. A study has found that as little as two hours continuous motorway driving in the dark can affect the drivers performance as severely as having a couple of drinks. Experts are now calling on the government to impose a maximum two hour limit on continuous night time driving in order to cut the number of accidents. I’m not entirely sure how easy it would be to enforce this if a limit were brought in but surely it is common sense that driving for several hours does make you tired. Particularly when driving on the motorway which is boring at the best of times.

According to this article numbers of wild birds in the UK are still falling dramatically. Populations of farmland birds are at a record low and woodland birds are also experiencing a 24% decline. Only seabird populations remain above 1970 levels. The decline has been blamed on habitat changes which means there are fewer nesting sites for birds. Food shortages may also play a part in the falling numbers. Some solutions include projects to financially reward farmers for managing land in an environmentally friendly way.

According to this article two thirds of women are unable to find a pair of jeans that fit. It seems many women find shopping for jeans frustrating as they are unable to find a pair that fits correctly. Personally I have many pairs of jeans but if I am honest none of them really fit correctly. I am unfortunate enough to have a fairly slim waist but wide hips and a round bottom. Although jeans do fit I usually have to buy a larger size that might fit my waist and bottom but ultimately gapes at the waist. It’s interesting, however, that I don’t have the same problem with trousers. I wonder why its so hard to find jeans that fit.

This is interesting its a giant pool table. The table which measures one and a half feet high has been built by Steve Wienecke in his garden. It took him 250 hours to create the table. He uses ten pin bowling balls as pool balls.

If this article is to be believed Australians are increasingly choosing wine over beer. If the trend continues it is thought wine sales will overtake beer sales within 10 years. In fact the consumption of beer has dropped by almost half to its lowest level in 50 years. Wine sales, however, have increased three fold over the same period.

Whenever I see an article like one I am reminded of the importance of micro chipping your pets. The article is about a cat called Star that went missing from the Isle of Wight. Surprisingly he has now been found over a year later 300 miles away from his home in York. Star was handed into a York Cats Protection Centre where he was scanned for a chip. He has now been reunited with his owner but it is still not clear how he ended up in York.

This is interesting its a wine that contains a venomous snake. Produced in a village in Vietnam the wine contains snakes and scorpions. It is made with either a cobra or scorpion encased in the wine. The poison of the creature, however, is cancelled out by the alcoholic content of the drink and the fermenting process. The wine is thought to have many health benefits and is used to treat various problems such as back pain, rheumatism and lumbago. It is also thought to increase male virility.

According to this article a cat in Boston has been ordered to do jury service. The cat called Tabby Sal has been called to sit in judgement at a US court. He had been refused a request for disqualification on the grounds that he is unable to speak and understand English. It appears the error may have been caused by the owner listing her cat in the wrong place on the census. As things stand the cat will have to appear at the court.

A shopping centre in Cheltenham had to be closed due to seagull attacks. The gulls began dive bombing customers on two levels of the shopping centre car park. They became increasingly aggressive and the decision was taken to close two levels of the arcade. It it thought hawks will now be brought in to scare them away.

This is the Beach Garbage Hotel, a project that has been created to highlight the rubbish that is washed up on our beaches. The hotel in Spain has been built by German artist Ha Schult. He has covered the walls with waste found at dumps and items brought at flea markets with around 30% of the items being found on beaches in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. He is quoted as saying "I created the Beach Garbage Hotel because the oceans of our planet are the biggest garbage dump."

If this article is to be believed Starbucks are now selling cups of coffee that contain nearly a litre of liquid. The new Trenta cup size has recently been rolled out in stores across 14 American states starting in California. The cup holds 918ml or 31 ounces and will at first be used to sell iced coffee, tea and lemonade. I wonder whether the new size will be popular. I can certainly never imagine myself thinking, man that was a really late night, I need a litre of coffee.

This is interesting its a proposal which could mean heavy drinkers are given a special zone in which they are allowed to drink. The scheme which has been proposed by a councillor from Colchester believes that the areas alcoholics should be given a special “wet zone” in which they can drink out of the way of the rest of the public. Currently anti-social drinkers in the area are constantly moved on by police because they and the dogs they often have with them are intimidating to the general public.

It is clear that some areas do have a problems with this issue. I remember when I used to work in Richmond, Surrey, there was a large group of men and their dogs who spent all day in the church yard drinking. It is clear they do need somewhere to go during the day where they do not cause problems. I’m not sure, however, that giving them a special zone in which to drink solves the issue. It seems to me it’s just sweeping the problem under the carpet rather than trying to deal with the root cause.

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